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Silver Spring sprouts "green"
apartment building
Blair Towns on Colesville Road is America's
first certified green residential complex
PHOTOS BY JULIE WIATT
Blair Towns, a new apartment
complex in Silver Spring, is the first in America to lower
its environmental impact significantly enough to meet certification
standards. Its "green" certification with the U.S.
Green Building Council is pending, and it is one of the only
apartment communities in America to be certified in the council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Some of Blair Towns' green features include low-energy glass,
which blocks infrared rays; low VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
in carpets and other materials; recyclable carpeting; energy
efficient lighting; plantings of native species, which require
no irrigation systems; and combined water- and apartment-heating
systems. Overall, Blair Towns' energy consumption is 34 percent
less than standard apartment buildings.
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Blair Towns are close to the
Metro and to bike paths through Rock Creek Park. Using
those transportation modes as alternatives to cars are
encouraged, but Blair Towns' parking garage (shown)
has many special features. It has space on site for
bike parking and FlexCar car-sharing, and its facade
faces entrances to apartments, for convenient access.
The apartments are positively pressurized so outside
fumes don't enter.
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At an October 22 press conference
on the roof of the apartment house garage, Charles Segerman,
Tower Company Director of Green Development, describes
the environmental considerations of the Blair Towns
design.
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For more information, stop by Blair Towns at 8320 Colesville
Road or visit www.blairapartments.com.
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